The Passion of Opera

First, I apologize for the long hiatus in posts. I have not had much opportunity to see live opera since being back at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and in Arlington, Virginia. The conclusion of my schooling did offer a few of the previous scholarly posts. Now, however, being in Washington, D.C., more actual reviews will be forthcoming. I will be seeing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis  this weekend and will post on that shortly, as well. In the meantime, a review of Washington National Opera's  La boh è me at the Kennedy Center. This was my first time at the Kennedy Center opera house and I was surprised how small it is. All in all, that's really not a bad thing, just surprising for such a key performing space in the United States. I will write my own review, but Anne Midgette's November 2 review in the Washington Post  was spot on, so I've included a link here:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/at-wno-a-la-boheme-that-gets-the-job-done/2014/11/...

Puccini's  Madama Butterfly  or  Madame Butterfly  is, unquestionably, one of opera's most beloved tales. In many ways it seems fairly straightforward to produce. The snags come, however, in the way the emotional content must be communicated. The first act culminating in " Vogliatemi, bene ," and the opening " Un bel dí vedremo " of the second act must create enough passionate, romantic tension to hold through the entirety of the second act (with the important exception, perhaps, of the revelation of her son) and most of the third act to the point of Pinkerton's return and ultimate betrayal. Most of the actual time of the opera is spent waiting, and unless the anticipation sets up an electric feeling of suspense, that waiting can be very boring. This review will run in somewhat reverse order - focusing on major characters, then comprimarios, and finally on the production itself. General information & synopsis:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

Just wanted to throw out there quickly that I've been a bit slow in getting through the mass of blogging I have to do between this and  To Float on a Wayward Wind  while also trying to do stuff and travel while in London in addition to classes and work. It's a bit crazy. Still, I have been to Strauss' Elektra at the Royal Opera House and to English National Opera's production of Beethoven's Fidelio . Both had their highs and lows and reviews will be coming out shortly. I may shortly be at ENO's Madama Butterfly  and would love to see ROH's Les vêpres siciliennes , though scheduling this has been difficult. Meanwhile, The Passion of Opera has broken 30,000 lifetime views and keeps going strong. Thank you for your support and I'll have new reviews up shortly!!

It has certainly been shocking to see more live opera in a week living in Charlottesville, Virginia than in three holiday seasons and three summers in Toronto, one of the most cosmopolitan cities in North America. (I should note that overall I saw more classical music performances and other cultural elements in Toronto than I have so far in Charlottesville.) After Wednesday's La bohème  with the Ash Lawn Opera Company, I had the opportunity to drive about an hour and twenty minutes north of Charlottesville, edging in on the Washington, D.C. suburbs, to Castleton, Virginia, where the Castleton Festival is held. The festival is a project of esteemed conductor Lorin Maazel, who actually personally conducted the performance I attended. That performance was of Puccini's La fanciulla del West. Fanciulla  is an opera about which I had heard anecdotes: it's one of Plácido Domingo's favorites, it has material Andrew Lloyd Webber may have plagiarized for the theme of ...

There's something about the music of Puccini, and perhaps La bohème in particular, which naturally and yet almost manipulatively captures both a sense of place and also the fluttering emotions of humanity. Nowhere were these elements more apparent than at Ash Lawn Opera's bohème this past Wednesday, July 17th in Charlottesville, VA. Ash Lawn is a a small company, putting on just two shows in the summer (this year's second show is Carousel). Nonetheless, Ash Lawn sports a young artist program, an apprentice program, and seemingly robust successes in its performances. While it's true that Ash Lawn chose (out of necessity due to the size of the Paramount Theatre) to essentially cut the orchestra in half, the piece maintained its artistic integrity. Generally strong principles, a functionally straightforward set and costume design updated to 1896 from the original 1840s time period, and strong conducting helped bring together a performance that focused on what mat...

At the end of my studying abroad in Vienna papers and exams overtook me, making it impossible to keep pace with reviewing operatic performances even as I continued to attend them. Since returning from Vienna, school, work, and other events have interfered in my completing reviews of 12 performances I had the opportunity to see as my time in Vienna came to a close. This lack of closure, however, has had a domino effect, leading me to feel like I couldn't review other performances, DVDs, write on various topics, etc. thereafter until I finished things up. At this point, now that I finally have the opportunity and have mustered the willpower, I've decided the best way to get this done is to seek middle ground. Writing a post each for the twelve performances in as much depth as my previous posts would require far too much time and effort. Additionally, it is impossible for anyone to see these performances with the same production and performers and I don't remember the details ...